Many Skies Under One Sun
by Sir Pudding
Summary: After hearing countless stories of heroes, a traveler crosses the world seeking out the mythic land of Hyrule. When he arrives, he finds himself involved in what will fast become a new legend. With the help of a mysterious ally, he must stop a band of sorcerers that threaten the legendary kingdom and the world beyond.
1. 1: Some Hero

Hello, readers. I've had this idea stewing in my head for years, and I figured it was high time I just sat down and wrote it. I hope you enjoy it! If you read it, please leave a review. I'd love to read any opinion on it at all. Love it and want to see more? Leave a review. Kinda like it, but see places where it could use work? Go ahead and leave a review. Thought it was awful and didn't finish it? Leave a review letting me know why. Seriously, I'd love to read any comments at all.

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**Many Skies Under One Sun**

**Some Hero**

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When I was a child, everyone told me stories about the heroes. There are as many stories as there are stars, as the saying goes, and a hero for every one of them. Heroes who fought giant monsters, heroes who traveled to the moon, heroes who turned into animals, heroes who could control the weather with a song, heroes who lived in the sky, heroes who even traveled through time. The stories always had their own ridiculous details, but they all sounded the same to me – evil rises, and a hero appears to strike it down. Each of these tales would go on and on about its hero. Far from being mere mortals, they were all chosen by the goddesses to carry out their will when the world needed them. A hero was imbued with divine power, the wisdom to know how to use it, and, most importantly, the courage needed to face the world's greatest evils.

I never heard the end of those heroes and their stories. No one ever really heckled me about power or courage, but they sure wanted me to work on my wisdom. I had an urge, a hunger for something beyond the simple life I had on the plains of my homeland. I would ride out in the middle of the night, hoping to find a cave to explore or a traveler with tales of the world beyond. I never heard the end of it when I got home in the morning from one of those adventures. "How will you ever be like the heroes," they would say, "if you don't have the wisdom to listen to your elders?" I always insisted I was just being courageous, and not 'unwise', but they wouldn't have any of it. One summer night, as I was about to turn around to head home, I finally gave in to that hunger. I suppose they would have told me it was unwise to leave altogether, if I had ever stopped to tell them.

As long as I live and breathe I'll never forget the view at the end of the steppe. I'd half thought the plains would go on forever, and that I'd never leave them. But there I was, at the edge of the first forest I'd ever seen, with only my horse, my bow, and my wits. I don't know how long I stood there, bewildered by all the towering trees and gazing at the steppe behind me, getting a last look at those beautiful green and golden rolling hills and the endless ice-blue sky overhead. It was all I had ever known. Eventually, I convinced myself to say goodbye to my horse; she wouldn't have fared well on the rough terrain ahead, and it just didn't feel fair to take her away from the place she was meant to be just for my wanderlust. I sent her home and made my way into the village at the edge of the woods, looking for a caravan to carry me further.

As I wandered further south, I discovered that my homeland was not the only place that had those heroic legends. Everywhere I went the people would have their own special tale of when their lands were in danger and a hero appeared to save them. It was mostly the same kind of stuff I had grown up with, really, with a few details changed here and there. There was, however, one thing that stood out. More of the stories included where the heroes had come from. They described the place as a great kingdom, built on sacred land and populated by the chosen people of the goddesses. It was from this stock that the heroes were born, the greatest of all mortals. They called this place Hyrule, and before long I decided that was a good a place to search for as any.

Over a year after I left home, I found myself in a small country the locals called Nivayu. At first it didn't seem special at all, just another patch of land that no one who lived outside it would want to fight over. You can tell a lot about a place by how they welcome you in; the Nivay border post at the merchant road I followed was manned only by a sleepy old man who just waved everyone in. The actual building itself was well maintained, so clearly someone somewhere thought managing the border was important, but when it came down to actually getting the work done, no one could be bothered enough to actually do much about it.

There was just one thing about that border post that set it apart from all the countless others I'd passed through before. As the old man was waving me through the gate he said, "Welcome to Nivayu, the western gate to Hyrule!"

That got my attention real fast. I stopped to ask him and he looked bemused, as if it was the first time someone had paid him any mind in a long time. He smiled as he answered. According to him, the kingdom of Nivayu had bordered Hyrule for as long as anyone could remember, but the larger kingdom had always been so inwardly focused that it never had much of a relationship with any of its neighbors. When the border guard was just a boy, Hyrule began to pay attention to the world around it. Nivayu opted to become a Hylian province, and apparently there had been nothing but peace and prosperity for the Nivay people ever since.

One on level, it was nice to have some real directions. All I had to do was travel a bit farther east and I'd finally make it to Hyrule. Technically, I was already in Hyrule, but it just didn't feel right. That sleepy little place couldn't really count as the legendary kingdom I'd heard so much about, and the locals didn't seem to think so either. I asked around and it sounded like the Nivays waved the Hylian flag just enough to mooch off of Hyrule's wealth and power. Beyond that, they didn't seem to care much about the issue of national identity.

So with a reinvigorated purpose and perhaps a confused understanding of matters of state sovereignty, I set out east towards Hyrule kingdom proper. Little did I know how much longer it would be before I made it there.

It was a gray autumn morning when I walked into the town of Kedano. I'd heard about the place; it was on the edge of the foothills on the Hylian border, on a road that had been paved for merchants coming from Hyrule. People said it was lively and bustling, with all the traffic flowing through but when I got there it looked depressed. There was hardly anyone walking around outside, and the streets were lined with empty market stalls.

Hungry, I looked for somewhere to eat. There was an inn right on the edge of town, a big wooden structure with a fancy paint job and a loudly-colored sign hanging over the front. I climbed up the stairs and crossed the expansive front porch, noting it was even emptier than the streets. I wasn't too hopeful, and indeed no sound came from inside other than the echoes of my own knocking on the gaudy front door. After waiting for a few moments, I turned around to leave and look elsewhere. As I stepped back down the stairs, I noticed a man in the street watching me, something like a suspicious look on his face. I shrugged it off and continued down the street.

There were plenty of other inns and taverns in Kedano, but it seemed as though they were all closed. For each door I knocked on, more people stopped to watch me. Just as I was beginning to get uncomfortable, one of them finally approached me outright. He was a short, pudgy little man, with a moustache he had let grow for far too long. He wore a hat that looked like a stovepipe and was far too big; it all combined to make his head look far too small.

"Hello, traveler!" he said, looking tired but smiling anyway and waving his arms around in a very practiced manner. "Welcome to our wonderful town!" I glanced back at the last empty tavern I had just checked. He sighed and as I turned back to him the grin slid from his face.

"Look, I'm the mayor here. The name's Teld," He toyed with his ridiculous moustache. "Alright, you – you can obviously see things aren't going too well right now. There haven't been any merchants from across the border in weeks. You're not…" he looked at me, half pleadingly, and asked, "You're not with one of the companies, are you?"

I was still wearing furs from back home, though I'd had to make a few replacements in my travels. I must have looked out of place, to say the least; everyone in Kedano was wearing very thin and very brightly colored cloth. I even saw more than one person running around in these ridiculous all-green tunics. There was no way that my patchwork getup looked anything like a representative of a big time trade caravan company. "No," I told him. I knew Teld must have been desperate.

He didn't look surprised at my answer. "Well, maybe you can still help us out. Maybe someone from out of town is just what we need." Fidgeting with his hands, he continued, "Listen, alright, this is going to sound strange, but please just hear me out, alright? Things are just falling apart around here. You're the first traveler we've seen in weeks, but we rely on traders for business and supplies. These infernal clouds showed up last week and we haven't seen the sun since. There've been more and more monster sightings around town. And of course, the governor's just holed up in the fort and hasn't replied to any of my messages."

"The governor?" I asked.

"Oh, the Hyrulian governor. She showed up a few months ago, said she was appointed to oversee the region. She had a decree with the royal seal and everything, so we set her up in the old fort. Serein wasn't so bad, she usually just let us get on with our lives, but every now and then she'd make some weird demand of some of the townspeople," Teld sighed. "Still, nothing to really complain about. You hear a lot of stories about these governors…"

He looked like he was conflicted about whether he should continue. "Okay, look, I don't really know if I believe this kinda stuff, but I'm at the end of my rope here. Before any of these troubles started, Serein got this official-looking parcel from Hyrule that had this…blue gem in it. Now, that isn't such a big deal, but people got really uncomfortable around that thing. Some even said they heard voices coming out of it. Now they think it's possessed by a monster spirit, or something. Ridiculous, right? Anyway, ever since she got that thing, Serein hasn't come out of the fort or sent out any messages or anything."

"Well," Teld continued, "people think that stone is responsible for all of our recent problems. There's an old legend that a spring near here is inhabited by a guardian spirit that watches over town. A few days after that gem arrived, the spring dried up and now people think we've upset the spirit there by bringing something evil into town."

I was more than a little incredulous. Teld must have seen it. "Listen, "he said hurriedly, "the point to all this is – would you mind walking up to the spring and…seeing if the spirit will talk to you? Maybe? The spring's not too far from here and I don't think it could hurt to try. Maybe the spirit will listen to someone from out of town?" He looked at me, desperately.

"Let me get this straight," I said, "You want me to go talk to a spring to fix your problems with the weather and commerce?"

Teld looked a little hurt. "Yeah, listen I know it's-"

I interrupted him. "Can I just get some breakfast first?"

After a hearty breakfast in what was apparently the only tavern in town still open, I set out for the spring. Teld took me to a rusty old gate on the southern edge of town; behind it was a dirt path that led up into the hills. There was a dry stone channel running alongside it, where I assumed the water from the spring had once flowed. Teld unlocked the gate for me and I started on my way.

At its base the path was surrounded on both sides by trees. Though it was autumn and leaves blanketed the forest ground, the trail itself was noticeably clear. I assumed that the townspeople had diligently swept it clean, presumably in an attempt to appease their spirit. I was starting to think they actually believed in the thing. I didn't know what I expected to happen when I got to the spring, but the meal had been good enough and Teld _had _asked me nicely. Besides, it didn't seem like it could be any trouble at all.

The trail grew steeper and wound further up the hill. Now, there was a short cliff face on my right and a drop off on my left. There was a little stone guardrail that had been recently polished, and the townspeople had left some carefully arranged flowers on it. The view was pleasant; I still didn't care too much for trees, but the mountain range in the distance was a nice reminder of how close I was to Hyrule.

Before too long I made it to the end of the path, and to the spring. A large, open-air shrine had been built around it, enclosing it in tall, stone walls. Some tall trees were visible over the walls; they were all sickly-looking and leafless, far too early even for autumn. All over the shrine, I could just make out a panorama in faded paint, that I guessed once depicted a river flowing through a pastoral landscape. A shallow basin, now dry, took up much of the floor. The water would have flowed out of it and into the channel that followed the path and went back into town. In the middle of the basin stood a stone pillar, with a wooden bridge that led to it.

I crossed the bridge, and stood on the pillar. A breeze wailed through the shrine, and it just made the scene even sadder. I sympathized with the villagers – the shrine must have been quite the sight when the water was flowing. I stood there for a moment, and then, feeling very silly, said aloud, "Well, is anyone there?"

Of course, there was only silence in response. At first. Soon, a rustling noise came from over the shrine walls. In disbelief, I looked around, and noticed that one of the dying trees was shaking. The rustling sound grew louder, and then I saw _something_ climb up the tree and jump onto the wall. As the thing stood there and bleated its distinctive cry, I recognized it: a monster.

It was called a bulblin, technically. I'd seen monsters like this one throughout my travels. If those bedtime stories are to be believed, they even plagued my homeland once, before they were driven off by, of course, a hero. This one was covered in thin, leather armor, including a mask over its mouth. What skin it left exposed was a nauseous green. It had eerie solid-red eyes, and two uneven, stumped horns jutted out from either side of its face. It wielded only a simple stone club, which it was angrily waving at me.

As I began to retrieve the bow strapped to my back, the bulblin noticed it wasn't going to be able to hurt me from up on the wall. It jumped into the shrine's empty basin, losing its footing as it landed and clumsily rolling around. By the time it started to climb out of the basin, I had already drawn an arrow and nocked it. One careful shot later, the monster dissipated in the usual cloud of dark smoke.

Lone monsters like that one were hardly ever much of a problem for anyone. As I jumped into the basin to retrieve my arrow, which was more or less undamaged, I just assumed that the bulblin had wandered off from its pack and that there wouldn't be any more trouble. Teld had said something about people seeing the thing around town, after all. I hadn't been able to do anything about the spirit problem, to my utter surprise, of course, but I could at least go back and tell the townspeople they could feel a little safer.

When I lifted myself out of the basin, however, I was greeted by three more bulblins. Crying in unison, and with angry looks in their red eyes, they swung at me with their clubs. I swore and jumped backwards into the basin, hearing their weapons strike the ground where I had been standing. I didn't exactly land on my feet, but I recovered just in time to see one of the monster's clubs flying through the air. The bulblin's aim was so bad that I didn't even have to move out of the way; the club bounced and rolled a yard or two to my side.

I looked up to the lip of basin, to see two of the bulblins jumping in after me. The third one, now club-less, was readying a bow of its own. I reached for my bow, but I realized I had dropped it when I fell back into the pit. Cursing my clumsiness, I ducked under the bridge just in time to hear the thwack of the bulblin's arrow striking the wood.

I scanned the ground for my weapon, and saw that it had skidded further back into the basin. The arrow had slid a little further. I dove for them, gathering them up quickly before I hid behind the pillar as the bulblin archer fired another shot. Its grunt of frustration was cut short as I stepped out from behind the pillar and released my arrow again, landing it between the monster's eyes.

The two remaining bulblins charged at me. I didn't have time to ready another arrow, but the stupid creatures were easy enough to dodge. They blew past me and actually ran into each other. They were both stunned for a moment, and I sent another arrow into the back of the closer one.

Seeing the last of his allies fade into monster smoke, the remaining bulblin ran at me again. I quickly drew one more arrow and launched it. It struck the bulblin square in the chest, but this one must have been tougher, because although it stumbled it kept running at me. Surprised, I didn't move fast enough to avoid the club swinging into my right arm.

Unprepared as I was for the blow, I dropped my bow again and fell onto my side. Wincing, I noticed that out of sheer luck the monster club that had been thrown earlier was lying less than a yard away. I rolled and grabbed it, cringing as I pushed myself up with my bruised right arm. I swung the club sharply at the last bulblin. There was a loud crack as the weapon connected with the monster's head, before it too turned to dust.

I dropped the club and checked my injured arm. It wasn't broken, but I knew it would be sore for a few days. I stretched as I scolded myself for getting hit, and then went to retrieve my bow and arrows. This time, I checked to see if any more monsters had surrounded the shrine, but I was alone. I tossed the discarded clubs out of the basin then climbed myself out.

Having completely forgotten the issues with the spirit, I decided to return to Kedano. I had no intentions of being jumped by any more monsters. Walking back down the trail, I scanned the woods on either side for any signs of bulblins, but saw nothing. I was beginning to think that the four monsters I had fought had been all there was – until I neared the bottom of the trail.

Just before the town came back into view, I could hear screams and other unpleasant noises. I turned the last corner, and beyond the gate the streets of Kedano were in total chaos. People were running into some buildings and out of others, in total panic. The mayor himself was nowhere to be seen. Several bulblins were climbing up the sides of houses, smashing abandoned shops and threatening people. Some of the monsters were mounted on their usual giant boar steeds; the fat creatures were stomping around almost uncontrolled while their riders shot flaming arrows into the empty windows of the structures around them.

I ran to the gate. I tried to open it, but someone had locked it behind me. Frustrated, I climbed over it, half surprised the rusty old bars could support my weight. When I landed on the other side, a couple of the bulblins noticed me and started to move towards me. I ducked behind a smashed-up market stall to draw my bow once again. I peeked around the stall to see where the bulblins had gone. They had moved faster than I thought they would – the two monsters were now standing on the other side of the shop. I thought for just a second, and then slammed into the stall with my good shoulder, knocking the thing over. Dark smoke billowed out from under the debris before dissipating in the breeze.

I looked away from the pile of wood and back towards the rest of the street. Several of the townspeople were lying motionless on the ground, and the mounted bulblins had started to carry some of them off. The rest of the monsters, apparently not wanting to be left behind, scrambled to climb onto the boars. I didn't want to shoot at them from too far away for fear of hitting the people they had taken, and before I could get too much closer, the monsters' mounts had carried them further down the road.

Unable to pursue the bulblins, I surveyed the scene around me. Villagers were starting to peer out from behind buildings or stalls. The monsters had left a few people lying in the road. Though I was worried they might be dead, some of them began to stir. I checked the others that hadn't moved yet, and even they were still alive. None of their injuries were that severe – nothing some rest and a little red potion wouldn't fix.

I barely had any time to think about that; I could soon hear an approaching rumbling noise. I looked up to see a boar headed in the same direction the earlier monsters had fled. There were two bulblins riding it, without any human prisoners. I readied my bow again and fired at the bulblin handling the boar's reins. The arrow connected, and without a driver the boar stumbled and fell, sending the remaining rider to the ground. I drew another of my arrows and launched it towards the monster as it stood up to brandish its club, striking it in the chest. The boar scrambled to its feet, then spun around looking for its riders. Watching it, a thought occurred to me.

Soon I, too, was barreling down the streets of Kedano on a giant boar, passing by homes and shops with smashed displays. There must have been some subtlety to controlling the beast that I missed, because I couldn't actually get it to stop or slow down. I could do little more than attempt to steer it in the direction I wanted to go, but that was enough to get me chasing after the pack of bulblins and their hostages. I could still see the cloud of dust they were raising as they rumbled their way down the road. I noticed they were actually running further into town, simply passing any straggling townspeople. As I rode by in pursuit, some of the confused villagers were cheering for me, while others just didn't seem to know what to make of what was going on.

The monster's destination came into view: the fort I had heard about from Teld, in the center of town. I saw the last of the bulblins ride through the gate, myself not too far behind. The fort was little more than a few stone walls placed next to each other. There was moss growing all over the structure, and I could see more than few loose stone blocks. There was a single tower at a corner where the walls met, standing taller than any other building I'd seen in town. I don't know how safe I'd feel climbing up it, though.

When I reached the gate, I decided I'd had enough of the boar and I leaped off to dismount. The animal kept charging for a while longer, before slowing and becoming fixated on its own tail. I ignored it and moved on to the fort. Cautiously, I stood next to the crumbling wall and peered through the open gate. The courtyard inside was completely empty. There was no sign of the bulblins and their mounts, or of anyone at all; there was complete silence. In addition to the tower I had seen from the outside, there were a few smaller, wooden structures surrounding the courtyard, but I couldn't see anything through their darkened windows either.

More confused than anything, I walked into the fort. Where were the monsters - where were the guards, I wondered. I realized I hadn't seen a single guard in town all morning. Every town had guards, so I was alarmed when they apparently did nothing as monsters rode through their town and straight into their own fort. Surely I wasn't expected to do all the work on my own.

Still alone, I walked up to one of the buildings and looked through one of the open windows. It was dark inside, but I could make out the plain-looking furniture and see that there was no one inside. Papers were strewn across the room, on desks, tables, and all over the floor. Government documents, I assumed, as I left to check another building. The next building was much the same, with more papers covering everything but not a person or monster in sight.

I stepped away from the window and walked into the middle of the courtyard, not knowing what to think. I knew I had seen the monsters run into the fort, and I hardly thought they could have leapt over the walls. Even the grass in the courtyard looked undisturbed, as if several fat boars and all of their passengers had just vanished when they went through the gate.

Standing there and feeling stupid, I scanned the area one last time. I hadn't noticed before, but one of the buildings had been boarded up, with planks of wood covering every window. The job had been sloppily done, as the planks were poorly aligned with the windows they were supposed to be covering, and one of them even looked like it might fall off if it was pulled on hard enough. To be fair, I couldn't actually manage to pry it off when I walked over and tried. I discovered that the door was unlocked, though. I pushed it open, wary that there may be an army of bulblins inside. Instead, I found something very different.

The room was empty, but for a single table in the very center. There was a short glass pedestal in the middle of the table, and placed on that was a small blue stone. The stone emanated a soft blue light that lit the far reaches of the room. As I watched, the light pulsated slowly. It reminded me of the long, slow breaths of sleep – I could have sworn I even heard something a little like snoring.

It must have been the gem the mayor had mentioned, and yet it didn't seem dangerous at all. Wherever the monsters had vanished to, they hadn't taken the thing with them. Curious, I took one last glance through the open door. Nothing had changed outside, and nothing happened as I approached the table in the middle of the room. The gem just lay there, as one might expect a stone to do, and continued to let off the blue light, which was a little more unusual. Now that I was closer, it didn't look as if the gem had been cut, as the facets on its surface were uneven and irregular. Despite the rough edges, each facet looked as smooth as glass. The light seemed to be coming from a point inside; I could see a brighter glow under the surface.

After a moment I reached out and poked the stone with a finger. It was cool to the touch, but otherwise nothing happened – no magical curses or traps. I grabbed it and turned it over in my hand. The light slipped through my fingers, blue beams dancing around the room. Though it fit easily into my fist, I'd never seen a normal gem of that size, much less a glowing one. I knew it must have been worth a fortune.

Just then, a voice came out of the stone. "Hey! Stop! Thief!" it cried, and out of surprise I dropped the gem, letting it fall to the table with a thud. The light that emanated from the stone pulsed brightly with each angry word. "Thieeeeeef!" the voice cried again; it was definitely feminine, but had a strange accent I hadn't heard in all my travels. I wanted to explain myself, but in my surprised state I was too slow to respond before the voice continued. "Yeah, that's right!" it said, triumphantly. "If you think I'm going to let you steal this - "

The voice had cut out suddenly. The stone's light dimmed again, and I was left there, standing in relative silence and complete confusion. Cautiously, I touched the gem with one outstretched finger to see if it would respond again, but this time it just lay there glowing softly, without berating me at all.

The quiet was interrupted by the sound of creaking wood behind me. Surprised, I jumped and turned around to see a woman standing in the doorway I had left open. She wore a frustrated grimace across her face, and a tight robe of a drab, gray color with patters of thin, silver thread dancing across it. The woman held a polished steel scepter in her right hand, with an emblem at the top with a bunch of triangles in it; I'd seen that symbol a lot around Nivayu. More than any of these things, as funny as it may sound, I noticed her ears. They had a pointedness to them that I had been told was characteristic of Hylians, the people of Hyrule.

The woman just looked at me for a moment or two, sighing angrily. I finally overcame my complete bewilderment at the situation and said, "So, I'm actually not here to steal anything, I was just following all those monsters," The hylian didn't respond, and her expression remained the same. "I don't even know what happened, I came in here and this thing started yelling at me," I pointed at the stone. "Where did all the monsters go, anyway?"

Suddenly, the room seemed to darken and the hylian's scepter gained an eerie glow. She pointed it at me, and before I knew what to do, a cloud of shadow burst from it and flew at me. The bolt struck me right in the chest, and I felt like I'd been hit by lightning. There was a flash of pain, and my legs gave out; as I hit the ground I swore and looked up at the woman. She smirked and sent another shadow at me. The blast knocked me back, and I felt a dull thud as my head hit the table behind me.

I woke up some time later with a splitting headache. I tried to open my eyes, and it only made the pain worse. I massaged my head for a few minutes and listened, but there wasn't a sound to be heard other than my own grumbling. I was resting on my back, on a cold, stone surface, and I felt no sunlight or even a slight breeze. My pockets were considerably lighter, and I could tell my bow and arrows were gone. I had absolutely no idea what had just happened to me; I'd just seen a vanishing pack of monsters, an angry, accusatory talking stone, and an unnecessarily violent woman with a magical scepter that could knock me out cold. All I had wanted was a decent breakfast.

I slowly opened my eyes, and this time no pain came. I was looking up at a stone ceiling, painted in a familiar pattern that in my dazed state I couldn't quite recognize. I looked to one side, and saw a windowless stone wall. On the other side, there was a set of iron bars with a hefty lock on the gate mechanism. There wasn't a speck of rust on them, and I guessed that they had been recently installed. Through the bars I could see the opposite wall, hanging on which was a single torch that lit my cell. There was an open doorway, but the room beyond was too dark to see anything inside.

It was hardly the first cell I'd visited. I was more than used to being 'misunderstood' by the authorities, but I was hardly about to allow myself to be imprisoned for defending the town from monsters. Slowly, I got up off the floor. I was a little unsure of my legs, but after stretching a bit I felt confident enough to stand up. I walked up to the cell bars and tested the lock. It held fast. I reached into my pockets for the pick that I always carried with me, but someone had confiscated that along with my weapons.

Frustrated, I leaned against the bars, considering my next move. I hardly noticed as, under my weight, the bars began to slip… and then completely come loose from the wall. I caught one of the metal rods, but barely kept myself standing as another bar fell to the ground. I just looked at it, through the hole in the cell I had created, and listened for some guard to come running, but after the echoing metallic clang subsided, there was only the quiet flickering noise of the torch. I decided to take this opportunity for what it was, and slipped through the new gap in the bars. I hastily 'fixed' the rods I had knocked loose, and then stepped through the darkened doorway.

Through the door was a cavernous chamber. A line of torches dotted the walls, which were painted in a faded sunset color. I could make out wavy patterns of silver lines on the edge of the torchlight. The arched ceiling was almost too high for the faint light to reach, and I could just barely make out spirals in the same silver paint crossing it. Dividing the room in half was a giant, empty trough that cut through the floor, just barely sloping towards one wall of the giant room.

I realized where I was – the spring shrine I had visited earlier must have had an underground section. The channel I saw once carried water to the basin outside, I guessed. Just as I was wondering why anyone would take me here, I heard voices echoing throughout the chamber. I looked to my right, and further down the wall I saw a door just like the one to my cell. Light poured out of the room beyond it, and I figured the voices were coming from there. As quietly as I could, I walked over and stood just out of sight of anyone who might be inside.

As I got closer, I could more easily make out what the voices were saying. A woman was speaking, and I could tell she was tired and very frustrated. "You're absolutely sure you locked the cell?"

A younger male voice responded. "Yes!" he said defensively. "I wouldn't go through all the trouble of installing that gate and then forget to lock it!"

"I'm pretty sure you've done stuff just like that before," said another man. His voice was deeper and rougher than the first man's. He chuckled dumbly, and the first man scoffed.

There was a sound of fist slamming into wood. "Yeah, well, I didn't see you exactly volunteer to help out," the first man said angrily. "Serein, why are we even keeping that guy separate from the others? I thought we needed as many of the townies as we could get downstairs?"

Serein – I remembered Teld had said that was the name of the Hyrulian governor. Now I was really confused. "Because, Aldin, that one's different. He found that confounded charm – which you left behind, I might add – and someone started yelling at him through it. " I was beyond being confused at this point. I could hardly believe my rear end had been handed to me by a governor.

I heard the sound of wood scraping across the stone floor, as if someone had stood up quickly and knocked their chair back. The gruff voice said, excitedly, "Wait, he got it working? What are we doing all this for then!? Why don't we just call the boss and see why we can't go home?"

The first man, Aldin, seemed pretty pleased to hear that the stone had been speaking too. The woman who was apparently Serein interrupted him, however. "It was a little late to call off all the bulblins, don't you think? Seriously, why don't you two just go down there and tell all those Nivay idiots they can all just go home now! Sorry about sending the horde of monsters to tear you out of your homes!"

It just kept getting worse and worse. Now these clowns were responsible for the monsters too. After a pause, Serein continued, a little calmer, "Anyway, I don't think he knew what he was doing. The charm went right back to being a useless rock after I knocked him out. That's why we're sticking to the plan downstairs. We're just keeping that guy in the other room around so that we can figure out what makes him so special, later."

After another pause, Serein sighed. Aldin spoke up, and said "Man, did you get a look at that guy? What is he, some kind of barbarian?" The other man laughed. "He stands out even among the simpletons here. I mean, who wears fur in this day and age?"

"I'd make you wear a little pink tutu if it helped us get home!" Serein snapped. "You'll notice that 'barbarian' did more to get that stupid charm working than you have in the last month!" The man tried to speak up, but before he could say anything in his own defense, Serein added, "And how about you dim that damn thing? I don't really need to be blinded right now."

Aldin made a squeak in protest, and then there was a sound of metal scraping against wood. The light coming through the doorway shifted around, and the shadow of a hand stretched across the floor. Then, suddenly, the light went out entirely. The other man yelled incoherently, and Serein shouted, "I said dim it, not – ugh, gods _above_ Aldin I have no idea how you managed to graduate from the academy!" I took the chance to run across the doorway and further into the shrine. I heard Serein shout, "I swear if you manage to screw up even one more thing today…"

I soon came to the next doorway along that wall. Inside was a stairwell, leading down deeper into the shrine. There was nowhere else I could see to go, and my three captors had talked about keeping the kidnapped townspeople in the rooms below. Making sure I wasn't being followed, I made my way down the stairs.

As I made it to the bottom, I noticed a familiar blue glow. With apprehension, I looked through the doorway. There was another big chamber, if not quite as tall as the one upstairs. In the center, on a larger pedestal this time, was the same blue gem from the building inside the fort. The thing was quiet again, and the light was pulsing lazily. There was a thin violet fog covering the floor of the room, slowly drawing in towards the center. There was a large door, directly under where the channel began in the room upstairs, covered in runes glowing a sickly green color. A thicker stream of fog was pouring through the runes, flowing towards the gem's pedestal.

I'd never seen so many things glowing that shouldn't be glowing. I was reluctant to walk across the fog, or into the view of the talking stone, but I felt like I had to look for the villagers. I just hoped that the stone would stay silent, as Serein said it had, and that the fog wouldn't prove dangerous. I gingerly stepped one boot into it, and the fog blew away as if I had fanned it. It formed an almost perfect arc almost 2 yards from where I stood. As I stepped farther into the room, the arc moved with me until it became a complete circle, and I was completely surrounded by the bizarre fog.

There was only one other door I could see in the room, directly across from where I had entered. I hadn't quite worked up to trying to go through the big glowing one, so I set out for the less menacing exit. I had made it about halfway, still stepping slowly despite the fog's aversion to me, and the stone hadn't yet stirred. I was feeling pretty confident.

"Hey, you!" And then that strange voice started again. "Hey, over here!" It sounded as if the voice was trying to whisper, and yet it still echoed throughout the chamber. I sped up a little, trying to get out of the room before anyone upstairs heard it. "Hey – come on! Come back!"

I turned my head and said, "Nah, I've had about enough of you, thanks," and continued walking.

"No, come on, please?" the voice protested. "No, come on, I didn't know what they were doing, I swear! I was never on their side, I never even talked to them! I just wanted to see Hyrule! Look, I, I - " it paused, thinking desperately. "I know where they put your stuff! I can show you where they put your stuff! You'll need your weapons, right?"

I stopped and turned to face the stone. The voice became much happier, and said "Yeah, there you go! Now come on, take the stone with you and I'll show you where they put your things."

"How about," I began, "You _tell_ me where they put my bow, and then I'll come back for you if you're telling the truth."

"Oh – oh fine. Just hurry! In that room you were headed too, there's steps that take you upstairs. When you get up there, the first door on your right has your things in it!"

Apparently the other door just led to another stairwell. "So, it's where I was going anyway…?" I asked.

"Well, yes but – oh come on, I said I was sorry! I'm trying here, I promise. Just hurry!"

When I reached the other door it was, in fact, another stairwell, mirroring the first one. I climbed up the stairs, and found myself in the first chamber again. I was standing on the opposite side of the channel; I could see the cell I had been kept in, and the room the three people had been arguing in. Whatever light source they had been using must have still been snuffed out, as the room was pitch black inside.

However, the room to my right – the one the stone had said held my bow – was pouring light into the greater chamber. As I approached it, I could hear the sounds of things being haphazardly thrown around. Pressed against the wall just outside the door, I could hear the rough-voiced man grumbling to himself. "Stupid Aldin would manage to screw up the cell, wouldn't he!" There was a crash as he knocked something over. "Come on out, you fur-wearin' freak, I know you're hiding in here somewhere!"

Fairly sure that the man was alone, I risked a glance into the room. I couldn't see Serein or Aldin, and assumed they were elsewhere. The man was facing the other way, rooting through a pile of junk as if he actually believed I would hide there. He too had the characteristic Hylian ears, and was wearing gray robes much in the same style as Serein's, only his lacked the silver patterns. He held a scepter that looked identical to Serein's; from its head emitted the bright light that illuminated the room.

He had upended one table, but there was another left standing near the doorway. On it were a few items that looked valuable: some ordinary, non-glowing jewelry; an ornate figurine of a bird of prey; one of the ugly, inelegant swords they liked to use in the southern lands. It may have had strange proportions and was, of all things, straight as an arrow where it should have been curved, but to its credit the hilt did look solid.

I moved into the room and carefully picked up the bizarre foreign blade. The man, ranting, didn't notice as I stepped behind him and raised my left arm. It almost looked like he was turning around just as I swung sharply and hit him in the back of his head with the hilt of the sword. He stumbled and fell to his knees. He dropped his glowing scepter and he fell forward to faceplant in the pile of junk. It almost looked like he had fallen asleep; his breath even sounded like snoring.

That taken care of,I looked for my bow. There was a surprising amount of swords in the pile of stuff, along with some helmets and other pieces of armor. Now I knew what had happened to the town guards, I assumed. After poking around a little, I couldn't find my own weapon in that pile – but when I turned to the table the man had knocked over, I let out an exasperated sigh. My bow lay there, the upper limb snapped just above the riser. I picked it up carefully with both hands to examine the damage, but I already knew it couldn't be repaired. Still, I couldn't just leave it there – I returned it to the straps on my back one last time. Resigned to using the unfamiliar sword for the time being, I left to return to the stone downstairs.

I knew that the governor and her remaining henchman were looking for me, but I didn't run into either of them in the big room. I wondered if there were more rooms I didn't know about that they must have been busy checking. Regardless, I made it to the stairwell and back to the fogged room without incident.

As soon as I began to step through the fog, the stone's strange voice welcomed me. "Hey, you made it back! And you found your bow!"

"It's broken," I explained as I walked up to the gem's pedestal.

"Well…I'm sorry?" she said. "Look, we don't have much time. One of them came through here looking for you, I think."

I asked, "Where are they keeping the other people?"

"Behind the big door over there, I'm pretty sure," she answered. "Come on, take the stone with you and walk over there, I know how to open it."

I reached out to grab the gem, but then paused and asked, "Wait, so you're not actually the stone…?:

The voice scoffed. "Uh, of course not? I'm just talking through it from somewhere…far away. Honestly, a living, talking stone? Ridiculous."

"I should have thought of that first, you're right," I replied as I snatched the stone. The pedestal it had been resting on suddenly shook as if in protest. "What…was that?"

"I – I don't know!" She seemed startled too. "But you must be upsetting whatever they're doing, and that's good, right?"

Eying the pedestal, I held the stone in front of myself like a torch. Reluctantly, I walked to the rune-covered door, careful not to step into the thicker stream of fog. The darker patch didn't scatter when I got near as the thinner fog did. I stared as I approached. The runes were still glowing, and the fog still poured out of it.

"Okay, now if I remember correctly," the voice began, "you should touch the stone to the top rune, then the right one, then the left, then left again, and then the bottom one. I'll take care of the rest."

"What!?"

"Hey, don't look at me. It's not my fault these guys are terrible at secret codes."

"I don't want to touch that stuff!" I explained.

"Oh, don't worry about it, it can't hurt you. Come on, top right left left bottom, you can do it!"

I extended my arm and pressed the stone to the first rune. As I did, the gem pulsed brightly for a second. The rune darkened, and fog stopped coming through it. Encouraged, I moved on to each of the rest in turn. "Naaaaailed it!" the voice sang as the last one was erased. Just as I was about to ask how to actually open the door, there was a rumbling noise, and the whole thing dropped into the ground. As it sank, fog billowed out, but I was too shocked at what I saw in the room beyond to avoid it.

A violet dome, the same color as the fog, filled most of the room. Shifting patterns crossed its transparent surface, and through it I could see the townspeople the bulblins had taken – and the bulblins themselves. They all looked fast asleep, sprawled all over the floor indignantly with the monsters arranged in a circle around the humans. Fog was coming from all of them, but more so from the bulblins. Several of the creatures appeared to be dissolving. They were missing limbs or large patches of skin as the fog billowed out of them and towards the now open door.

The voice and I both swore loudly. I stepped up to the dome and swung my sword at it, hoping to break it, but before the blade could connect a force bounced it away; I barely avoided it flying back into my face.

Staring at one of the dissipating bulblins, I asked, "How do I stop this?"

"Let me think…" I didn't want to leave those people under there for a second longer. "Well, maybe I can disrupt this thing too. Give me a moment, and then jab the charm into it."

The stone started to glow brighter, and then I tried again to break through the shield. There was still resistance, but I was able to overpower it. As soon as the gem touched the surface, a wave of blue started to wash over the dome. When it reached all the way around, the surface began to shrink inwards. I walked forward to keep pace with it, until it stopped after about a yard or so. I looked around, and saw that it had only uncovered the bulblins. The worse-off monsters faded away entirely, but the more intact stirred. They howled, and those that still had legs stood up to face me.

"Oh wow, I didn't think that would happen. You can fight these things, right?"

I stowed the gem in a pocket, holding the sword defensively in front of me. The closest monster was swinging a club at me with its one remaining arm. I stepped back to avoid the strike and the bulblin fell off balance, leaving itself vulnerable to two quick hits from my blade. Already frail, that was enough to defeat it. I heard another bulblin cry behind me, and I spun around just in time to deflect its club. The creature had been weakened so much already that it feebly dropped its club and could only look at me as I finished it. A third, healthy-looking bulblin rushed at me; I stepped out of the way and connected my sword with the back of its horned head.

"Wow, you're pretty good at that."

The rest of the monsters were in no shape to fight. After I killed the last of them, what was left of the violet dome started to crack, until it shattered entirely. The room became dark again, and I pulled out the stone to see by its blue light. The stream of fog coming out of the villagers had stopped, and the purple haze covering the floor thinned considerably. I went to check on one of the people, but as I knelt down I noticed someone standing in the doorway.

It was another Hylian man wearing the gray robes. It must have been Aldin. He had a terrified look on his face, and as I stood up and readied my sword again he let out a squeak. "No, no, I give up!" he said. "I don't want to fight you!"

I just eyed him suspiciously. "I-I swear I didn't know this is what she was planning!" That sounded familiar. "I just wanted to get home, she said we needed that stone to talk to people to let us in...I didn't know this is what she meant! I couldn't stop her!"

The voice from the stone joined in. "Well, he's definitely terrified of you. And to be fair, I never saw him do…whatever that was to those people. Mostly he just spent a lot of time trying to get your cell set up right."

If Aldin heard her, he didn't show it. I motioned towards the still-unconscious townspeople and asked, "Will they be okay?"

He swallowed and answered, "Y-yeah, I think so. S-Serein said it wouldn't kill them. That's all I know!"

As he spoke, I noticed one of the victims begin to stir. It was Teld, the mayor. He was groaning and had lost his silly hat, but looked otherwise fine. I looked back to Aldin. "Okay, tell you what. You're gonna stay here and tell these people what happened, because I sure don't know what that was."

Aldin looked panicked. "But - " I stared at him and idly spun my sword. "Okay, okay, I'll do it."

That took care of two of them. "Good. Now, where is…" I trailed off as a rumbling sound echoed throughout the shrine. It came from upstairs, shaking the floor and walls.

"I don't know what that is, I don't know!" Aldin raised his hands and answered my unspoken question.

I told him to stay put while I checked it out. I thought about trying to tie him up or something, but I honestly didn't know if that would even be effective against his magic. I would just have to take him on his word.

The fog in the pedestal room was much thinner now. As I ran across it, I said to the stone, "I don't know what he's so afraid of. I have no idea how to fight a wizard."

"Ha!"

As I climbed the stairs, the shaking subsided but the rumbling sound continued. Stepping into the big chamber again, I understood the source of the noises. Openings had appeared in the walls on either end of the channel in the middle of the room, and clear water flowed from one to the other. The stream had yet to smooth out, sending splashes over the lip and onto the dusty surface of the floor.

I also saw Serein, standing on my side of the room. "You!" she cried, launching another bolt of shadow at me. Not eager to repeat that experience, I moved out of the way. "You did this!" she screamed as she prepared another spell. The end of her scepter turned red, and a cinder appeared under my feet.

The voice speaking through the stone yelled, "Move!" Confused, I had only just begun to step out of the way when the cinder exploded, knocking me off my feet and the wind out of my chest. As I landed on my side, the shock sent the stone flying out of my hand and bouncing across the floor. Of course, it landed by Serein's feet.

She scooped it up and smirked, not noticing that the gem was glowing fiercely. "A treasure like this would be wasted on the likes of youuuaah!" She flung it away, her hand looking burned. I dove for it as she howled in pain. I caught it just before it fell into the rushing water and turned around to face my opponent, just in time to see another explosion erupt in front of me. I screamed as the blast sent me over the edge of the channel. The stone and my sword were blown out of my grip, and I felt a sharp pain under my left arm.

The stream was ice cold. The current flipped me over and around, knocking my flailing arms and legs into the sides of the trough. I tried to get my head above the water, but I couldn't even tell which way was up. I could see my blood in the froth, and taste some of it in my mouth.

Suddenly there was a drop, and I was staring up at the cloudy sky. I landed in shallow water, momentum and the current carrying me a few yards before I finally came to a stop. As I lay there, there was a strange feeling in my side, where I had been wounded; when I checked I looked good as new. I had left some blood behind me, but as I watched it the pool shrank until it disappeared entirely.

I was back in the basin of the outside portion of the shrine. I had been carried by the water through an opening that had appeared in the wall in front of the pillar in the basin's center. The water was only about at my ankles, but the basin was gradually filling as more water poured from the underground chamber. A blue glow shimmering in the water and reflecting off the walls of the shrine alerted me to the stone. It had landed on the opposite side of the basin, next to the sword. I went to retrieve them.

"Well, you were right about one thing. You _don't_ have any idea on how to fight a mage."

Before I could think of a properly witty retort, Serein was launched out of the stream of water. I don't know if she was using magic or if she was just more graceful than I was, but she landed on her feet and turned to face me with an intense expression. "If you think I'm going to let you get away with that thing...How did you get it to work? Who are you working with?" Not even knowing how to answer that question, I just shrugged. "Fine," she said, raising her scepter as it began to glow red again. I prepared to avoid another blast, but none came; Serein seemed as surprised as I was. I assumed the water was somehow blocking the explosion.

She growled in anger. She launched a shadow bolt at me, only growing angrier as I dodged it. I avoided the next two strikes, but the exchange wasn't getting me anywhere.

"Wait, I have an idea!" the voice from the stone said. "Hit it back with your sword! Hit the spell!"

It sounded pretty dumb to me, but I didn't have anything better to try. Serein attacked again, and I readied my sword. Feeling very silly, I swung at the clump of shadow flying at me. Just before it connected, a bolt of light flashed from the stone to the blade of my sword. There was a loud crack, and the shadow turned around, headed straight for Serein faster than she had launched it. Her eyes wide, it struck her straight in the chest. The blow knocked her off her feet. The voice from the stone cheered, and I took the chance to close the distance. Serein saw this and hastily fired again, but a downward swing of my blade reflected that as well.

Slowed as I was by the slowly deepening water, she recovered from her own curses and stood up before I could reach her. Still, she looked ragged, and I hoped to catch her off with a quick swing to her side. She blocked it with her scepter, magic bouncing my blade away despite my strength advantage. She intercepted my next swing as well, but she was starting to stumble.

Before I could strike again, she waved her scepter to draw something in the air. A violet shield appeared around her, in the shape of a diamond and emitting a high pitched hum. I swung at it, but my sword wasn't able to go through. Serein stared at me through the shield and spoke, her voice muffled through the barrier. "You're a dead man," she said, waving her scepter again, and then she vanished in a flash of light. The diamond remained for a moment longer then it too disappeared.

I spun around, expecting her to reappear behind me or something underhanded like that. There was no sign of her, inside the basin or out. "Uh…Is she gone?" I asked.

"Huh," came the voice's reply. "Guess so. I don't even know that one."

I decided I wanted out of the basin before it filled entirely. I was worried I'd be too tired to pull myself up, but the regenerative powers of the water left me feeling much better than I had any right to be. Even so, after I climbed my way out I lay on my side, hoping in vain for the veiled sun to start drying off my ruined clothes.

"Well, this isn't how I pictured my morning going," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"So, I'm sure you deserve a break and all…" the voice began, "But you did leave all those people back there. With one of those mages, no less." I groaned, and started to get up. She said, "You probably can't get back in the way you came out, huh…" I asked about where they had carried me in earlier. "There was an underground passage in that sad little castle of theirs," the voice said. I groaned again. Now I would have to walk all the way back through town, and then back again underground.

"Hopefully there will be fewer monsters this time," I sighed as I started back down the trail to Kedano.

Before I got far, though, I heard a new voice from behind me. "Wait…" it said, ethereal and raspy. My patience for this sort of thing wearing thin, I turned around with a huff.

There was a pale, golden form floating above the water in the shrine, just beyond the pillar in its center. Its glow reflected off the water and the walls of the shrine. Though it was very large, I couldn't discern any familiar shape in it; parts of it were collapsing into dust and struggling to reform.

"Please…" it said. "I must speak…" An avian-looking face appeared for a moment in the center of its body, with a pained expression. I walked across the wooden bridge and stood again on the pillar.

"I…am the spirit of this spring, Danos. Thank you…" it made a sound like a rattling breath. "…for ridding my shrine of the sorcerer's evil."

"Uh, you're welcome," I said. "Are you – are you hurt?"

I heard a sad laugh. "You have done a great thing for the people of this town, and for me this day."

"Actually, they're probably still stuck in there…"

"Do not worry for them. As we speak they find their way outside. The young mage assisted them, as he promised you, and then departed in much the same way your opponent did. Myself, however…" Danos paused, groaning, and continued, "I had already been weakened before they defiled my temple. That is what I must speak with you about. That is why I have silenced that charm you now carry."

I checked on the blue gem. It was still pulsing softly, but the voice had yet to say anything. I looked back at the spirit. "Why?"

"The mages you defeated attempted to use truly dark magic on that stone," the spirit explained. "You were brave to face and destroy it, but I still fear that the stone may be corrupted. There are only a small number of those charms in the world, and they are held by the royal family of Hyrule to be used for communication. That these evildoers would not only possess that gem, but even expect their allies to hold the others, is a grave sign indeed."

After pausing for a moment, the spirit said, "The one who now channels through the charm helped you greatly, true…and for that she is to be commended. But I sense that she is no Hyrulian royalty, either. History is covered in scars wrought by the hands of rogue mages." Danos made a deep sound like a sigh. "Still…you may have little choice whether to trust her in these dark times."

"For months I have been afflicted, my senses dulled and my powers weak. Even before this, my brethren in other lands…in Hyrule have fallen silent. They must still live, or all the world would know of their passing, but I cannot feel their presence. Something…is gravely wrong."

Danos continued, strain audible in its voice. "These lands…and their people have fought evil countless times. Always have the goddesses provided for and defended us. But now these mages curse me, and I fear their allies are doing the same dark work across Hyrule. We spirits are powerless to stop them, and the people remain oblivious. I had thought it all hopeless…and then you arrived."

"Me?"

"For ages, when darkness and evil have plagued the land and all despaired, heroes have arisen. You are not of the Goddesses' chosen people, and yet…there is something familiar about you, about your essence."

I was more than incredulous. "I'm pretty sure you've got the wrong guy here…"

"No. I do not know why they chose one so far from their sacred lands…but I can sense the Goddesses touch in you. You have a need, a hunger, to do more than stand to the side while evil claims the world. I know you have felt it. It must be why…why you are here."

"How…? What can I even do?"

"I only wish I could tell you more, but I have been blinded. You must seek out…the spirits and Sages of Hyrule. They…can help you, but you must also protect them. Be careful with who else you trust…the tendrils of shadow reach everywhere, and everyone."

Danos' form began to shudder, and much of it faded entirely. He answered my unasked question, "Yes…my time has passed. Spirits cannot know death as mortals can, but I am at my own sort of end. Please…do as I ask. Save Hyrule. You may be the only one who can." With that final word, the last of Danos' light faded, and the spirit was gone.

I didn't know what I was supposed to make of what I had heard. I stared at the now-still water for a moment, and then started the walk back to town again, having no other option.

"Wow."

I had almost forgotten about the voice from the stone. The spirit had said it had done something to interfere with the stone's magic. "Wait, you heard all that?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I think he tried to stop me from hearing, but I guess he was too weak…" The voice perked up after pausing for a moment. "…this is all pretty crazy, huh?"

"You're telling me," I said. "After so many years of listening to stories about heroes, I've ended up in one."

"Ha! Some hero you are. Where would you be without my help, hmm? Danos was right, you _are_ going to have to trust me!" She laughed and said, "Actually, you take hits pretty well! And you're not half bad with that funky blade of yours."

I frowned. "I hate this thing. I want my bow back." It was still strapped to my back, but it could only be more broken after all the abuse I'd taken. "I bet they don't have a single good bow for sale in town…"

"Oh come on, I'm sure they'll have all kinds of gifts to lavish upon their hero! At least one of them has to be useful, right?" I kept walking down the path, watching the water run down the channel alongside. I figured that if these people couldn't make a good sword, there was little chance of them making a good bow.

"You know, Mister Hero, I don't think we've been properly introduced," the voice said as I reached the overlook with the stone railing. "I'll go first! You can call me _Ana_." She managed to stress all two of the syllables, as if I would have difficulty pronouncing them.

"Well, miss 'Ah-na', I hope I don't have too much trouble remembering your name."

"Hmmph! Let's hear yours, then."

I almost answered reflexively, but I caught myself. I hadn't used that name in almost a year. Most people I had met in my travels never asked about it because it just never mattered. I never even liked my name that much.

In every story about those heroes, they all had the same name. Sure, they'd be given different titles based on whatever they did, but somehow they always had the same given name. It was a popular name in its own right, but nobody knew which came first. In any case, I had always liked the sound of it...

"Link," I said. "My name is Link."

* * *

Whew, that was a long one. I don't expect every chapter to be quite this long; I just had a lot of ground to cover in this first chapter. And please, if you made this far, leave a review and let me know what you think! I think the part with the spirit got a little cheesy x_x Tell me what you thought about that or any other part that stood out to you, good or bad! And thanks for reading!


	2. 2: What's The Plan?

**Many Skies Under One Sun**

**What's The Plan?  
**

* * *

"Well then Link, what's the plan?"

I was making my way down the path back to town, sopping wet and battle weary. "Lunch and a nap," I answered. I carried Ana's gem in my pocket; that didn't seem to interfere with our communication.

She replied, "I was thinking just a little farther ahead than that!" I noticed, though, that even though we were now outside her voice retained the echo it had inside the shrine. I had attributed it to the cavernous nature of the underground rooms, but now I assumed it was just the effect of whatever magic she was using to speak through the stone. To add it to all she had an unfamiliar accent that didn't quite fit anywhere I'd been to in my travels, much less Nivayu.

Not that I looked or sounded much like a local myself. "I guess I'm going to Hyrule. I was already headed that way, I just didn't think I'd have a mission when I got there."

"Ah! See, it all works out for everyone," Ana said. "All I wanted when I used this thing was to see Hyrule anyway. I've heard so much about it."

She continued as I neared the end of the trail. "You know, I don't think this 'quest' of yours will be much trouble at all. Just get over there, let the people in charge know that their governors are practicing a little black magic, and let them take care of the rest. Then it will just be like a vacation, right?"

I could see a commotion going in town. People were gathering at the small cistern at the bottom of the hill, where the spring water flowing through the channel along the trail ended up. They were cheering and pouring buckets of the stuff on each other in celebration. I wondered what they'd think if they knew I'd just bled and fought in it, even if the spirit's healing powers seemed to have taken care of the effects of that. Oh well, I thought, hoping they were smart enough to at least boil it before they drank it.

As I reached the gate, there were a few cries of _its him!_ and many heads turned towards me. The crowd renewed their cheers, and a familiar face appeared from among them. Teld the mayor, still missing his hat, rushed over to open the gate for me.

He beamed at me and started waving his arms again. "My boy, you sure do know the value of a first impression! A whole mess a' folks saw you fighting off those monsters, and I heard from the governor's assistant himself that you're responsible for keeping us safe in the shrine temple!" Ana made some fake cheering noises as Teld spoke, to my horror.

"Oh, don't worry, I've set it up so that you're the only one who can hear me," she said. "I think, anyway."

The mayor certainly didn't act as if he noticed either Ana or my reaction, and continued to gesticulate at the much-welcomed flow of water. "You even got the spring a' springing again! And to top it all off, the governor collected her things and ran out of town!" Now I knew where Serein had disappeared to. "I'll bet she even took that cursed gem with her! Yes sir, I think our troubles are over!"

"Cursed? Now that's hardly fair," Ana pouted.

It seemed like Aldin hadn't told the townspeople the whole story as I had made him promise to, and it fell to me. "Actually, Serein was the responsible for all this in the first place. She's the one who had the monsters abduct you all."

Teld looked like he thought I was crazy. "Come now boy, we all know she was a bit odd but there's no need to spread nasty rumors. Monsters don't listen to people, lad, as I'm sure you know." I tried explaining that I had heard her confess to it, and fought her at the spring, but he wouldn't let me finish.

Ana acted offended. "Wow, he actually doesn't believe you? After all you did for them?" I stopped trying to convince the man; if he was still oblivious after all that had happened, nothing I could say would change his mind.

He saw I had given up. "Oh, there's no need to dwell on the past. We should celebrate! The monsters are gone, and no one was seriously hurt. We've got our spring back! We've got a lot to repay you for, let me tell you."

Fortunately, the bulblins weren't even that good at mindless destruction. Sure, there were some upended stalls and smashed up storefronts, but if I didn't know better I might have believed the damage had been caused by a night of inebriated revelry rather than a monster invasion. Some were more injured than others, but it was nothing a little magic spring water and some red potion couldn't fix. Serein had acted as if she controlled the monsters; I wondered if it was incompetence or mercy on her part that spared the townspeople. Even the fires they had managed to start had already gone out.

Once the immediate concerns were dealt with, Teld insisted that they leave the cleanup till later and that they throw an impromptu celebration feast. Some of the innkeepers retrieved food from their stores, eager to get rid of it before it spoiled, and Teld even threw in the cart's worth of meals that was supposed to be the governor's supply of food for the day. I could tell the food was a little old, but it had been prepared well enough to be enjoyable.

Over the course of the meal, the townspeople became curious about me and started asking all kinds of questions. At least Ana was entertained; she apparently found the villagers' accents hilarious. Eventually they learned I was going to Hyrule. Teld got excited, and asked if I might be able to do one more thing for the town of Kedano. Apparently there was a Hyrulian outpost just on the other side of the border, the last stop for travelers before they entered Nivayu. Teld wanted me to stop by there and see why no merchants had showed up in weeks. He even offered to let me take his horse over there so that I could make it in less than a day's journey.

"I know a man at the outpost. When you get there, you can just leave my horse there and he'll be taken care of. He can just come back with the next caravan." he said, seeming a bit optimistic to me. "Besides, you won't need a horse anymore once you get there. They have a train there, and it can take you anywhere in Hyrule faster than any animal."

"What's a train?" I asked.

"I don't rightly know! I've never actually been over there to see it," Teld laughed. "I've heard it goes mighty fast, though."

It only made sense to take his job, really. I was already headed there anyway, riding Teld's horse to the outpost could only make things faster. I was a little skeptical of his claim at having a friend in the outpost if he had never actually been there, but if he was willing to let me borrow his horse he must have been pretty sure of it.

The townspeople practically lined up to give me some more supplies for the journey. I got some trail rations, and a decent amount of rupees, tiny colorful gems that I was told were used as currency in Hyrule. They even gave me a new outfit of clothes, which I reluctantly accepted. I was loathe to wear such bright colors, but the change would make me less recognizable. The mages had certainly noticed my unusual fur clothing from home, and if they had anyone else working for them, they wouldn't expect me to look like any other Nivay citizen running around in horrendously bright fabrics.

That didn't mean I had to like it. The town tailor decided green would fit me; at least that wasn't as bad as some of the other colors I'd seen people sporting. Thankfully, whoever had made it had been a little pragmatic. I was at least glad that it looked like it was designed with a traveler in mind, rather than some city-bound socialite. Still, I knew I was going to have to make some adjustments of my own before I would be able to carry everything I was accustomed to. The clothes came with a very silly looking conical hat, and I wondered if maybe it was to make me look taller so as to be more intimidating to my enemies.

Finally the townspeople must have grown bored of me, and let me be in peace. By then the sun was beginning to set. As draining as the day had been, I was more than happy to sleep now and prepare for an early departure in the morning. The same innkeeper who had provided my breakfast was happy to set up a room for me, and I was happy to accept.

As I was laying my things on the room's desk, I wondered what to do with the stone. I definitely didn't want the innkeeper or Teld to walk in while I was asleep and see the obvious glowing blue thing that they blamed for all their troubles.

"Just wrap it up in something and put it under the bed," Ana said. "It won't actually block my vision, and I promise to let you know if there's any monsters down there."

I stuck the stone into the silly green hat, rolled that up and slid it under the wooden bedframe. Curious, I asked, "How far can you see with that thing, exactly? Hardly seems fair that I don't get to spy on you."

Ana scoffed. "Fair? Try again after you've spent a lifetime studying magic. Anyway, I can see about…four times your height in every direction. I've been able to see through most walls and things so far, too. I think the colors are being distorted, though," she explained. "I'm still not really sure of what I'm doing here."

I was much too tired to ask anything else. I collapsed onto the bed, fully expecting to fall asleep right away. Instead, I heard the loud chime of a bell. I hadn't seen a single bell tower in town, much less one in my room. Ana yelped, and I heard the sounds of furniture moving, papers being flung aside, and just panic in general.

"I'll be right there!" Ana said frantically. She swore under her breath. Finally the sounds of her cleaning stopped. There was one last quick rumbling noise, and then, out of breath, she said, "Oh! Hello, Reyin. I wasn't expecting you!"

"Hey, Asuriana!" answered a male voice. He had a similar accent to Ana's, and the same echo when heard through the stone. I wasn't sure, but he sounded like he couldn't have been much older than Ana or myself. "I'm glad I found you here, people might have started to think you'd run off!"

"What?" Ana took a breath. "I was just ill today, that's all. Thought I should rest." I was surprised to find that she was trying to hide what she was doing with the stone. I didn't think she'd need to be ashamed of using her powers to save my life.

"Well, good to see you're better now. We missed you and your talents at work today, you know," Reyin said. "The villagers all said they were worried about you. "

"Great, I take one day off and everyone goes crazy. "

Reyin sighed. "It just means they think you're hardworking, Asuriana. You've been tired and distracted lately, and we care about you is all." I heard Ana grumble something. "Anyway, during a meal break today I took a walk and saw something I think you should see."

Ana didn't seem to like the sound of that. "If this is gonna end up as another one of those morals of yours…"

"Oh now, it's just a short walk, how bad could it be! Besides, we agreed it was important we keep up on our studies, remember?"

Ana thought for a moment, and then said, "Fine. It's not like anything could go horribly wrong if I go walk into town, right?" Reyin laughed, and Ana continued, "Just give me a minute. I've got to…wash up a little. Yeah." It sounded as though Reyin left, and Ana was cleaning up whatever mess she'd made. Then I heard her whisper, "Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone. This guy will talk forever if I let him, which I have to. Wish me luck!"

And then she was gone. It's just like any other night, I thought as I lay there. I'd spent countless nights, in inns like this one or in the wilderness, happily tired from a day's worth of travel and eager to get started the next morning. Technically, all of the events of that day hadn't changed much about my plans. I was still going to Hyrule. Like Ana said, all I would have to do is talk to the authorities and get them to clean things up. If they couldn't handle Serein and whoever she was working for, I didn't know what I'd be able to do about it.

Ana, though. I wondered what to make of her. Danos, the spirit who'd set me on my quest, seemed to be uncomfortable about her, but I didn't really have any reason to trust her. People always said to be wary of powerful mages; I'd seen some sorcery on my travels, but nothing near as powerful as what Serein and Ana had managed. Many of the storied heroes fought against wizards with dark ambitions. Serein certainly fit that description, but Ana claimed she only wanted to see Hyrule. I could hardly criticize her for that, could I? Still, it was a little odd that she wanted to hide what she was doing from her friend…

I drifted off into sleep, dreaming of the stories they would tell about me one day.

The next morning I found myself awake as the first ray of sunlight slipped into the room. I got out of bed and looked out of the window facing to the east. The clouds that had been plaguing the town for weeks had scattered, and the sun had only just climbed over the mountains that marked the border with Hyrule. There was a gleaming layer of snow across their peaks, even this early in autumn. I'd been told that the route to the outpost snaked through a pass between the bases of two mountains, and that it didn't get snowed over until well into winter.

I collected my things that I had laid out the night before, retrieving the stone from underneath the bed. The charm was silent; I assumed Ana hadn't yet returned from wherever she had gone. To my surprise, the green tunic fit me rather well. The cap was comfortable, even if I felt silly wearing it. The suit had a scabbard across the shoulders for the sword I'd found, which Teld let me keep. I scavenged some straps from my old clothes to attach my quiver and broken bow as well. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it – I half hoped I would find someone who could fix it, but I knew it was broken for good.

After a breakfast of leftovers from the feast, I departed for the town stables. Teld hadn't woken up yet, or at least he wasn't there waiting for me, but I did see his horse. Like other horses I'd seen in Nivayu, he was taller than those I was used to. He was a little fat as well – like rider, like horse, we used to say at home.

I made it up onto the odd-looking saddle and started riding back through town. Now that the sun had fully come out from behind the mountains, more people were awake and waving at me. I rode past the gate at the foot of the path to the spring, seeing that the water was still flowing down the channel. I had bottled some of the healing water for the journey ahead, hoping that I wouldn't need any of its regenerative powers anytime soon.

Soon the last of the town was behind me and I was following a dirt road towards the mountains. The trees on either side had littered the path with leaves. The layer of foliage and dust didn't look as though it had been disturbed in quite some time. Growing up on the plains, I'd only heard of what autumn was like in a forest. I didn't quite see the beauty in the color of the dying leaves, but I sure was amused by the crunching sound of them under the horses' hooves.

For a good while longer I rode on that like, listening only to the sounds of the forest and the crackling leaves as the mountains loomed closer and closer. Suddenly, there was a strange noise that startled the horse. Struggling to keep it from jumping around, I realized what I was hearing: Ana was yawning, the stone's magic giving the sound an eerie touch.

"Good morning," I said as I tried to calm the horse.

Ana grumbled unintelligibly in response, followed by another short yawn. "I see you started without me. Having problems with your animal there?"

The horse had finally stopped panicking, but still had a spooked look in his eyes. "Yeah, I think you scared him."

Grumbling again, Ana said, "Guh, it shouldn't be able to hear me at all…let me check some stuff." Ana muttered to herself and I heard what sounded like a high pitched whistle for a second or two. The horse didn't react. "No, I think everything's normal…"

I got the horse moving down the road again. The crunch of the leaves resumed, accompanied now by Ana rooting around her room, throwing things around carelessly, and continuing to complain to herself. Finally she slammed something onto her desk, followed by the distinctive sound of something being poured into a tall glass.

There was a pause as she drank whatever it was, and then Ana asked, "So how far along are you? Don't tell me I missed all the action."

I told her I had only been going for an hour or two. She poured and drank a few more glasses, and I continued to travel in silence for a while longer. Finally I decided to ask Ana, "So what's up with that one guy?"

"Oh, gods…" she groaned. "Reyin's always trying to teach me stuff. He'll find some funny looking tree and try to convince me it's a metaphor for the meaning of life. This time he showed me a fish stuck in a puddle from when a river flooded. He said it represented…well the point is, it was dumb, okay?"

She poured yet another glass. "Ah, I guess I shouldn't be hating on him that hard. He's just trying to help, after all…" She paused to drink. After an audible gulp, she continued, "It's just that he's been showing me up for years, you know? Well, guess what, who's the one with the theoretically impossible and yet incredibly illegal scrying setup? It's me. Woo."

"Is that why you tried to hide your 'setup'?" I asked.

Ana laughed. "Yeah, I might be trying to avoid the punishments that are so bad they don't even write them down."

The ground was beginning to slope noticeably upwards. By now, the mountains were so close that I had to lean back and look up to see their peaks. I asked, "Why is this illegal, and why are you even doing this if it is?"

"It's a bit of a long story. Let's just say the people in charge hate fun," she answered. "Anyway I already told you, I just want to see Hyrule. And yes, it is worth it."

"I can understand that, I suppose." I'd given up a lot for the same goal, after all.

The horse whinnied and stumbled. He recovered quickly and continued uphill. I checked the ground for a rock or something else he would have tripped on, but the path was clear of any debris I could see. I didn't blame the horse; I knew I should have been paying more attention. I started to scan the trail ahead of us for more obstacles.

"So," I asked after a pause, "Where are you, anyway?"

"Oh, I'm still right here." I told her she knew what I meant. She waited for a few seconds before answering. "…somewhere far away. Somewhere where I can't really ever expect to make it to Hyrule."

Now I understood. "Not gonna tell me, huh?"

"Yeah, nope," she said flatly.

"Fair enough." Even if I was curious, I sympathized with not wanting people asking a million questions. It seemed like she was far enough away that it wouldn't matter anyway. I decided I would drop it.

"Besides, if you're clever, I bet you can figure it out!" she laughed. "It'll be like a puzzle!"

I said, "I do love a good puzzle."

"Who doesn't, right?" She yawned again, as if she was stretching. "Oh, man. I have to go look like I'm busy so people won't freak out about me again. Maybe I'll go check out a few books or something." There was a sound of sliding wood, and then, her voice sounding more distant, she said, "I'll be back before too long. You keep on chugging along."

Before too long I had reached the actual foot of the mountains. A river had cut a deep ravine that snaked around the mountains and across the road, and a newer-looking wooden bridge stretched across the gap. On the other side, the path inclined more sharply upwards, though it still appeared easily navigable. Tall cliff-faces lined each side of the trail, which continued much farther than I could see and looked to have been carved out of the stone.

The layer of leaves disappeared at the edge of the thinning forest, and the crunch of the foliage was replaced by the knocking noise of the horse's hooves on the wooden planks of the bridge. Just as we got about hallway over the chasm, the horse stopped moving. Confused, I nudged him gently, but he was almost frozen. His eyes flittered about as if something had scared him, but when I looked around I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Sighing out of frustration, I climbed down and walked in front of the horse. His eyes finally stopped wandering and focused on me, but they were still wide with panic. I said a few comforting words in an attempt to calm him, and then tried to guide him the rest of the way across the bridge. He resisted at first, scraping his hooves almost like he was trying to dig in to the wood, but he gave in and followed me. Together we slowly walked the rest of the way over the ravine. I let him rest for a few minutes. He still looked a little nervous, but I was able to get him to start moving again.

Layers of colored rock streaked across the cliffs to either side. The surfaces of the cliffs, and of the floor underneath, were smooth for the most part, but every so often cavities appeared in the walls. Some were only about the size of my head, some were large enough I could have stood in them without crouching. The weirdest thing was that there were cuts on the insides of most of the holes that looked exactly like bite marks. I figured the weird scratches must have been a result of some part of the process that had been used to carve out the path, which I didn't really understand at all.

The holes eventually became less frequent, and the trail started to narrow. I judged that it was only wide enough now for two average-sized caravan carts to carefully slide past each other, which left plenty of room for me and the horse. Soon we rounded a bend in the path; the cliff face to my left dropped off, replaced by a ravine. There was a river at the bottom, and I could only guess that it was the same one we had bridged earlier. The edge of the chasm was lined with a waist-high wall of stone bricks.

None of that was what spooked the horse, though. Even I was too surprised to notice the animal rear up on its hind legs, although I was painfully aware of my collision with the ground. I scrambled to my feet and tried to calm the panicked animal once again, staring at what had surprised the both of us.

The path ahead was blocked by a golden barrier of magic. It extended all the way across the chasm, reaching the very bottom and extending upwards farther than I could see. Angular patterns of dark bands covered the surface. The wall emitted a high-pitched whine and I could actually feel the ground vibrating. The giant wall was slightly transparent, and when I looked closely I could see some of the landscape beyond.

"Hey Link, I'm baaaawhat is that?!"

Trying to keep the horse from flailing too close to the precipice, I said, "I was hoping you'd tell me."

"I…don't know! I can tell you that it's definitely magical!" That wasn't very helpful. "Can you, uh, go around it maybe?"

The animal seemed to have finally calmed down, although it obviously wanted to leave. "Not unless this horse turns into a giant bird. Maybe not, even then," I said as I tilted my head to see the barrier reach into the sky.

"Well I don't think there's a spell for that one. I guess now we know why Serein and her friends couldn't get home," Ana sighed.

"I'm not the expert, but this looks like their kind of thing, doesn't it?"

"Hmmmm," Ana began. "It's hard to know for sure, but I see your point…"

That didn't make the situation much clearer. "But then why would they make this thing if they're so desperate to get past it? Do they not know how to get rid of it?" I asked.

"If you ask me I don't really think those clowns could pull off something like this. I've never even heard of a barrier on this scale." After a moment Ana seemed to have an idea. "Hey, you know, I overheard them talk like they weren't the ones in charge. Not even Serein, I mean."

I vaguely remembered something about that myself. "That was why they had this stone, I think. They were using it to talk to someone else, and then you got in the way."

"Exactly! I'll bet whoever they're working with set this thing up, but because of my interference, the guys on your end don't have any more idea of what's going on than we do!"

"Well now we have an idea of this got here," I said. "But we still don't know to get rid of it."

That deflated Ana. "Oh. Right. Well, are you sure you can't go around it?"

"No, It goes farther than I can see. I didn't see any other paths I could have taken," I answered.

Ana sighed. "Yeah, and if someone wanted to keep people out of Hyrule, they'd probably block the other ways, too…guess we'll have to figure out how to take it down, huh?" I certainly wouldn't know anything about that, and I asked her if she did. She said, "I don't know…then again, these guys didn't have the best craftsmanship last time. We might as well try the 'jam the good magic into the bad magic' approach again. Worth a shot, right?"

I wasn't too eager to leave the horse alone, even for a moment, but there was no way I'd be able to make him move any closer to the wall that frightened him so much. I scooted him gently away from the ravine and hoped for the best. Thankfully, he didn't freak out when I left his side.

I reached into a pouch and pulled out the stone. Even with the sun directly overhead, its blue glow was still visible. I held it in my fist and walked over to the barrier. The droning sound intensified as I got closer, along with the vibrations in the ground.

When I got within arm's reach of the wall, I asked, "You ready?"

"Let's do this."

The stone's light pulsed with each word. Then, it began to glow more brightly and emitted a hum of its own. I gripped one end, and I pressed the other end to the barrier. There was a boom louder than thunder and a blinding flash of light. I felt the charm get torn out of my hand and an instant later there was a sharp pain in my forehead. I swore so loud it echoed on the mountains as I clutched my head, and I could hear the horse cry out in alarm. I blinked my eyes open to find the stone lying on the ground and the golden barrier completely unscathed.

"…are you okay?" Ana asked, strain in her voice.

I rubbed my brow with the back of my left hand. There was a little blood, but not too much. "Yeah, just surprised mostly."

"Good, 'cuz that was _hilarious_!" She broke into laughter. After much too long, she said, "Ohhh man, I'm sorry. Well, we're not getting through that way. What's the plan now?"

"The plan," I started to say as I turned around, "is to get my horse back!"

The poor animal had finally had enough, and I just caught sight of his hind legs as he rounded the corner to go back down the path. I picked up the stone and stuffed it into its pocket before running after him. As I rounded the bend myself, I was relieved to see that the horse had stopped a few dozen yards down the road, rather than run all the way home on his own.

As I was waiting for the horse to calm down, Ana piped up again. "Geez, don't you know how to control that thing? How are you gonna get around on it if it's always freaking out like that?"

"The answer is, I'm not," I said. "As soon as he's feeling better we're riding right back to town and leaving him there."

"What? Why?"

It seemed obvious to me. "Because he won't be much use if he's constantly terrified to death."

I didn't quite understand why Ana protested so much. "But he's just afraid of the dark magic in that giant wall! Animals are usually more sensitive to that kind of thing."

"Yeah, and what might we expect to run into more of when we're dealing with a bunch of dark mages?" I remembered that the horse had reacted to Ana once as well, but I decided not to bring that up.

Ana groaned, "Guh, so you're going to _walk_ everywhere now? This is going to take forever!" I told her I was used to traveling on foot. Besides, there would always caravans going around I could hitchhike on. "Fine. It won't be my feet getting sore, then."

Eventually the horse calmed down – or maybe he just decided he really wanted out of there – and we set out for the return trip to Kedano. We started to pass those strange holes in the cliffs again; Ana said she didn't have any idea what they were, either.

After a while, she tried asking again, "Okay, so what do we do next? How are you gonna get into Hyrule now?"

I'd been going over the events of the day before in my head, formulating an idea. "Yesterday the mayor said he'd heard of some other strange governors from Hyrule. I'm going to ask him about them," I explained.

Ana asked, "You think they're working together with Serein?"

"Exactly," I said. "I'm going to find out where they're stationed, go and see what I can find out."

"So…you want to go _towards_ people you think are working with someone who wants to kill you?"

That wasn't quite how I would have put it, but, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Awesome," Ana laughed, "What could possibly go wrong?"

It was risky, but I didn't have any other options. "I figure I'll just look like any other traveler. I'll check things out, see what they're doing, and maybe we'll find some clues on how to break that wall." I asked, "You have any better ideas?"

"Nah, that makes sense," Ana conceded. "That barrier was massive; I don't think I'd be powerful enough to just tear it down, even if I wasn't going through that stone," she explained. "Tell you what, while you plod your way around the countryside I'll start researching into big spells like this, see if I can't learn something useful."

"Alright, you become a bookworm, and I'll go put life in danger," I joked. Ana scoffed.

I rode back through the pass and over the bridge again, the sun sliding downwards as I traveled. I continued through the forest and over the crackling leaves; the sound made the nervous horse jump now. It was well into the evening before I made it back to town. When we got near the stables, the horse sped up and walked right in without a need for my guidance. I jumped down and locked the door behind me. He didn't seem sorry to see me go.

Apparently my unexpected return had been noticed. As I exited the stables, Teld was waiting for me with a curious look on his face. "Hey there," he said as he saw me, "I hadn't expected you back any time soon. What happened?"

"Giant evil magic wall blocking the way," I explained. "I think Serein is involved with whoever did it."

He sighed in frustration. "Ah, still on about that, eh?" I didn't understand why he was so determined not to believe me. "Look, you did a lot for us, and I'm grateful, but I'm sure you mistook whatever you saw. I know that fine folk in Hyrule just wouldn't send someone dangerous here to be put in charge."

"What is this guy's problem? Maybe they paid him off or something," Ana guessed. "Then again, he'd have to be pretty stupid to keep doing that after what they did to him."

In any case I wasn't about to waste the effort to convince him. "Yesterday you told me about other strange governors. All I want to know is where they are."

That only made Teld more upset. "What, are you going to defame them, too?"

Ana gasped excitedly. "Wait, I have an idea! Tell him you're here to evaluate how the governors are doing!"

"What?" I said, before I could stop myself.

Teld said something in response, but I ignored it as Ana explained quickly, "Tell him Hyrule sent you! You're seeing how the governors are doing, and you want to see why people are complaining about the strange ones!"

Teld finished whatever he was saying before I had fully parsed what Ana had said. Just as he must have noticed the bewildered look on my face, I understood.

"Okay fine, I'll let you in on the secret," I said. "I'm actually from Hyrule. They sent me here to...evaluate the governors. I was trying to see what you would say about Serein when someone criticized her. It was just a coincidence that I got here at the same time as those monsters." At least the last part was true. Ana was trying to coach me through the speech, but she was honestly just distracting.

Before I could continue, Teld said, "But you said you were from the north!" How astute of him.

"I had to look like an outsider so they wouldn't know I was checking in on them," I lied. "I just need to know which ones people have been complaining about."

The mayor still looked incredulous. "If you're from Hyrule…what's the capital?"

I had no idea. Ana did, though. "Castle Town!" I could hardly believe they would actually name it something that silly, but Teld accepted it.

He wasn't quite satisfied yet. "Okay then, what is Lake Hylia named after?"

Ana saved me again. "Hylia, the patroness goddess of the Hylians." I wondered if she'd heard more about Hyrule than I had.

Apparently that was enough for Teld. "Alright, alright, sorry I gave you all that trouble," he sighed. "Travelers have been telling tales about the governor at that Goron quarry near the old Nivay capital, and the one assigned to that little town in the middle of nowhere in the marsh."

I actually had no idea where those places were, but I wasn't about to give that away by asking for a map. "Finally. Thank you," I said. "Try not to tell anyone else, it's just easier that way. And I'll be needing another night in the inn."

"Of course, of course!" I couldn't believe he actually thought I, of all people, was a government official. Ana was just laughing. Teld continued, "I'll talk to the innkeeper right away!"

"Oh, and you can keep your horse. Poor thing just wants to stay home," I said.

The inn's owner was much friendlier. After Teld had gone, I asked her for a map, which she happily provided. I got her to point out the places Teld had mentioned; the marsh was halfway across Nivayu, but the quarry Teld had mentioned was only a few days away to the south.

She had given me the same room from the night before, having cleaned it just after I left. Seeing it there, looking the same as it had before, only made me feel even more that I had wasted the day entirely.

"Well, we learned some more about what's going on, didn't we?" Ana said, "And we know where to go now. That's a start."

I rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, I guess. This just isn't where I expected to end up today." Chuckling, I added, "You know, this is the first time I've turned around for over a year."

"You've been traveling for that long? Man, I wish I was free to just wander like that. Sounds like fun."

I asked, "Why don't you?"

"Hah. As if anyone would let me!" They hadn't exactly 'let me' go, either, but it sounded like it was different for her. "Besides, I have…responsibilities. I wouldn't feel right just leaving, you know?"

I started to unpack for the night, unstrapping my broken bow and my sword for the first time all day. As I placed my things on the table Ana asked, "Did you…just leave? Wherever you came from?"

"Yeah."

"Why? What made you do it?"

This was gonna take a while. "There were these stories people used to tell me…"

* * *

This chapter was only half as long as the first. I have a feeling the chapter length is going to be pretty erratic.

Thanks for reading!


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